Dawgs' TE Look to be a Bigger Part of O

David Hale

08/19/2009

ATHENS – In the tight ends meeting room, a set of goals for the 2009 season is printed on the bulletin board. The first item on the list reads: Gain back the respect of your teammates and restore the tradition of this university.

The words were penned by sophomore Aron White after he watched his unit struggle to the point of embarrassment a season ago, but it's a goal that Georgia's two newest tight ends – freshmen Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch – had in mind before they even arrived in Athens.

"We did our research, and it was Tight End U back in the day," Charles said. "We're trying to rebuild that. We talk about it every day. We can do it, so why not now? What's holding us back?"

Last season, however, the tradition hit rock bottom. A series of injuries to Bruce Figgins and Tripp Chandler combined with a lack of depth to create a scenario in which the position was almost abandoned from the offensive scheme.

By year's end, Georgia's tight ends had accounted for a woeful 10 catches.

"It took a toll on us last year, and that's just not the way a Georgia tight end is supposed to perform," White said. "We took it upon ourselves to make some changes and change the mentality in our unit room."

A re-emergence by the tight ends isn't simply a goal for White and his cohorts. It's a necessity for the entire offense.

While Georgia was able to rely heavily on a dynamic running back, a strong-armed quarterback and a bevy of experienced wide receivers last season, many of those big names will be missing in 2009.

That puts the pressure on the tight ends to handle their share of the offensive workload, and not just in the passing game.

"We need a tight end at the point of attack to help us establish the run game," offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. "Last year you just had so many injuries at that position week in and week out that it changed our philosophy a little bit. Toward the end of the season you're seeing four wides, where really we'd like to have a tight end there in most of our formations."

That shouldn't be a problem this season, White said.

Last season was defined by the limitations at tight end, but the story this year might be just the opposite.

With the addition of the athletic Charles, who had 75 receptions and 21 touchdowns as a senior at Plant High School in Tampa, Fla. last year, and Lynch, a more traditional bruiser, White thinks this year's crop of tight ends could be the most dynamic the school has ever seen.

"We've got some tremendous bodies in there that can just run and jump and catch and block," White said. "It's just an exciting time for the tight ends at Georgia."

The excitement begins with Charles, whose decision to spurn Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina late in the recruiting process made him an instant favorite among Georgia fans.

Charles' is long and lean, looking more like a bulked up wide receiver than a typical tight end. His athleticism makes him an immediate match-up problem for defenders, and his ball skills border on the astonishing, White said.

During a practice last week, the quarterback lofted a pass to Charles, who was running a drag route over the middle. The ball was overthrown, and Charles dove, reaching out his right hand to tip the ball back toward his body before corralling it with his left.

"I was just like, this is definitely a guy who can make some plays," White said.

Charles' athleticism makes him dynamic, but he knows he still has to handle the grunt work of a true tight end.

He sought out Georgia's most muscle-bound players like Shaun Chapas and Fred Munzenmaier during his first trip to the weight room this summer, and he made a point of packing on as many pounds as possible before ever reaching the practice field.

"That was a very good thing to see – a person who wants to work and is eager to work – and he's translating that very well over to the football field," White said.

While Charles works to prove he's more than a hybrid tight end, Lynch is happy to keep his versatility a secret.

White said his first inclination is to describe Lynch as a brute, a fitting title given his immense strength. But there's more to his game, and Lynch's speed and skill are often deployed with an element of surprise.

"He's naturally big, but he's played basketball his whole life so he can still move and run and jump and cut," White said. "That was just a surprise to me how athletic he was. He's deceptively fast because he's so long and big that it doesn't look like he's moving that fast, but he's out there running with the best of them."

It's White that is the veteran of the crew, however, and he has backed up his goals for the season with action during the offseason.

During his first two years in Athens, White oozed talent, but didn't have the physique to match up with SEC defenders. This offseason, however, he met with a nutritionist regularly, hit the weight room harder than ever and stayed in Athens for the month of May, taking one class but mostly working on building strength.

The result is a new 237-pound body he hopes will allow him to hold down blocks without cutting his speed.

"I think the versatility that we have in our room as far as athletes is really going to help," White said. "If you have a tight end out there that's a threat down the field but has the durability and the strength and the mind-set to stick their nose in somebody and bury a block and sacrifice their body on the line, that puts teams in a tough spot."

Georgia's defenders have already gotten a firsthand look at the havoc the team's tight ends could cause this season. Charles and Lynch earned raves from teammates during fall practice, and while White is mending a sore hamstring, he has gotten in on some of the action, too.

"(Last year) they combined for 10 catches," Charles said. "These two scrimmages, I had five catches alone, and Aron and Artie had a couple themselves. So it's showing that they want to change everything up, and we're showing we have the athletes to get it done."